1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to apparatus for preventing the transmission of infectious agents, and more particularly to sanitary shields for preventing the transmission of infectious agents between users of public facilities.
2. Background Information
The public consciousness of infectious disease is at historically high levels. Many individuals will go to extremes to avoid physical contact with any “public surface.” Such “public surfaces” would include exposed surfaces in public rest rooms, door knobs, and public telephone handsets.
Particularly for the business traveler who is both germ-conscious and who must routinely use public restrooms immediately after use by others, such as at crowded airports, train and bus stations, using public restrooms can be a source of daily discomfort and concern. Other public venues, such as restaurants, athletic events, etc., also often entail relatively large groups of people using the publicly available facilities.
It is a problem when using restrooms that communicable and/or contagious diseases of a previous user may be spread to subsequent users of the restroom through contact with the various surfaces of the restroom. Of course, many efforts have been made in making toilets and urinals more sanitary, and every public restroom includes washing facilities. However, when a large number of people use a restroom, the probability of infectious agents being transmitted nonetheless increases. Also, even though a person may thoroughly wash his or her hands before leaving the restroom, most public restrooms have doors which require opening by hand, thus immediately exposing freshly washed hands to another, possibly infectious, public surface on the door knob, handle or push plate on the door.
Thus, door handles in public restrooms in particular are handled by a multitude of people each and every day. In the likely event that at least one of this multitude of people is sick with a communicable disease, every subsequent user is subject to infection by whatever germs or pathogenic microorganisms might be able to sustain themselves on the door components until being passed on. Moreover, other than germs, door handles which are handled by large numbers of people may from time to time accumulate other undesirable substances thereon, e.g., greases, saliva or other bodily fluids, containing potentially infectious diseases.
From a public health standpoint, it is clearly desirable to contain the spread of contagious and communicable diseases.